Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday October 25.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down during Asian morning trading on Thursday after the dollar strengthened once more, with only lead prices rising due to continued supply tightness in China.Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here. The...Read More
Samarco, the iron ore pellet producer with 50:50 ownership by Vale and BHP, should restart operations in Brazil early in 2020, Vale said on Thursday October 25.The company was already building a new tailings dam and expected to request an operating permit before the end of 2019.Vale was now more confident that Samarco would be allowed to operate again, chief executive officer Fabio Schvartsman tol...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreBHP, Global Ore, 90,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Newman fines, sold at $76.05 per tonne...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale was planning small-scale acquisitions of assets connected to the company's existing businesses, chief executive officer Fabio Schvartsman said on Thursday October 25.The company was becoming interested once again in "bolt-on acquisitions," Schvartsman told analysts."[The acquisitions] will be of small assets, with high return rates and direct connection with assets we alrea...Read More
Tight supply of Australian iron ore continued to support the market for the steelmaking raw material on Thursday October 25, with the benchmark 62% Fe index rising above $76 per tonne cfr China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $76.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.31 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $75.07 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.31 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $...Read More
A flurry of trades gave the seaborne coking coal spot market a boost on Thursday October 25.A joint shipment was sold to a buyer in Indonesia, with the portion consisting of 40,000 tonnes of a top Australian brand being priced around $240 per tonne cfr Indonesia, and the other comprising 35,000 tonnes of premium mid-vol hard coking coal, slightly above $235 per tonne cfr Indonesia, according to va...Read More
Fastmarkets MB proposes to discontinue the Indium Corp ingots min 99.97% $ per kg, fob price owing to an understanding that the existing specifications no longer serve the market.Fastmarkets MB is committed to the indium market and will continue to track its evolution, providing appropriate pricing mechanisms where needed.Metal Bulletin is now inviting...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part under pressure during morning trading on Thursday October 25, with the complex down by an average of 0.2%. Poor US new home sales data on Wednesday and weakness in equity markets are weighing on market sentiment.Copper leads the weakness with a decline of 0.8% as at 07:39am London time, with aluminium, zinc and tin...Read More
China's ferrous futures tanked in the early hours of morning trading on Thursday October 25 but regained some strength before the end of the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 4,207 yuan ($606) per tonne, up 42 yuan per tonneJanuary hot rolled coil: 3,940 yuan per tonne, up 27 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange January iron ore: 532.50 yu...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices maintained a downward trend over the past week with demand remaining soft.Fastmarkets MB's price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 15,500-15,800 yuan ($2,233-2,276) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Wednesday October 24, down 100 yuan per tonne from a week earlier.Demand remained weak and stagnan...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia largely softened over the past week amid reduced offers from most exporters coupled with a lack of improvement in regional demand.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,060-2,140 per tonne cif East Asia for the week ended Wednesday October 24, narrowing from $2,050-2,150 per tonne cif a week earl...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Vedanta's Zambian copper operation, could cut its copper output by up to 150,000 tonnes next year due to rising procurement costs following a proposed import duty on copper concentrates, Fastmarkets has learned. KCM is looking to halve its Zambian primary smelting capacity- which now stands at 311,000 tonnes per year, a company source said on Wednesday October 24. To ga...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board by an average of 0.7% during morning trading on Friday October 26. Concerns about the broader markets and continuing uncertainty over trade and sanctions have capped the upside for those metals trying to move higher, while it has pushed the weaker metals prices lower. Nickel leads on the downside with...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 24 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were recovered following release of the first estimate of third quarter real GDP. Consensus is growth at a 3.3% rate versus growth at a 4.2% rate in the second quarter. Actual was 3.5%.Amazon plunged $147.17 to $1635.00 after reporting lower than consensus third quarter re...Read More
Gold futures are trading marginally higher on the day, with the most active December Comex contract currently fixed at $1,234.50 after adding today's gain of $3.40. These gains are occurring in tandem with a higher dollar. The U.S. dollar index is currently up by 2/10% and fixed at 93.37 after the addition of today's 19-point gain. This rally began precisely two weeks ago today on Thursday, Octobe...Read More
(Kitco News) - The Mines & Money Conference in Toronto happened during a tumultuous time for the markets. The theme of discussion inevitably revolved around the nosedive that equities took the week before the conference, when the S&P 500 plummeted 7% between October 3rd and 11th and gold reacted by rallying 4% from October 9th to the 16th. Gold has since stayed near the $1,220 to $1,230 an...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are slightly higher in early-afternoon U.S. trading Thursday. Some mild safe-haven buying is being offset by solid gains in U.S. stock indexes at midday. However, nobody knows what late-session twists and turns the stock market will make. December gold futures were last up $1.40 an ounce at $1,232.40. December Comex silver was last down $0.041 at $14.635 an ounce. A high...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver markets could be two of the few commodities to survive an impending global economic slowdown in the next few years, according to one U.K. research firm.Although analysts at Capital Economics have little hope for gold prices this year, as the yellow metal continues to fight against rising U.S. interest rates, the firm reiterated its long-term forecast as it sees pric...Read More
(Kitco News) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi cautioned markets following the central bank’s rate announcement, promising that even if the asset purchase programme (APP) ends at the end of the year, the monetary policy will still remain “very accommodative.”The ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, noting that it was still planning to end its monthly asset...Read More
OceanaGold Corp. (TSX, ASX: OGC) reported a net profit for the third quarter of $21.7 million, or 4 cents a share, which was the same as in the third quarter of 2017. The company lists production of 138,034 ounces of gold, up from around 136,000 in the year-ago period. All-in sustaining costs were $761 an ounce. The average gold price fell to $1,202 from $1,276. OceanaGold also produced 4,310 tonn...Read More